Housing for Health initiative houses over 1,200 patients, families

NYC Health + Hospitals says that over 1,200 patients and their families have found housing through its Housing for Health initiative.

NYC Health + Hospitals said on Wednesday that patients experiencing homelessness were referred to the program as part of their healthcare at the municipal hospitals. 

It said patients are supported in gathering key documents, filling out paperwork to apply for housing, identifying housing opportunities that they qualify for, visiting the apartment, and transitioning into permanent housing. 

NYC Health + Hospitals said that patients who are housed through Housing for Health are placed in affordable or supportive housing and pay no more than 30 percent of their income towards rent. 

“They live in all five boroughs and are connected to the health system for their healthcare,” it said, adding that Housing for Health identifies patients through referrals from their NYC Health + Hospitals care providers, including MetroPlusHealth, the health system’s managed care organization, and the initiative’s medical respite program. 

NYC Health + Hospitals said Housing for Health is also working to develop affordable and supportive housing in New York City by identifying available land controlled by the health system and partnering with developers and City housing agencies to build residential buildings on that land. 

The program will create over 650 new affordable homes on hospital land, supporting connections to healthcare services through proximity to care sites, NYC Health + Hospitals said. 

In the coming year, it said the Comunilife Throop Residence in Brooklyn on the campus of NYC Health + Hospitals/Woodhull will be complete and ready for occupancy. 

Within the next year, Just Home in the Bronx on the campus of NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi, 1727 Amsterdam Avenue in Manhattan, and River Commons at NYC Health + Hospitals/Gotham Health, Morrisania in the Bronx will commence construction, NYC Health + Hospitals said. 

It said the Housing for Health initiative is supported by “strategic partnerships” with community-based organizations, affordable and supportive housing developers, and City agencies including Department of Social Services, NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development, and NYC Housing Development Corporation. 

“Having a home is crucial to the good health of our patients,” said NYC Health + Hospitals President and Chief Executive Officer Mitchell Katz, MD. “We treat the whole person, and housing is a great prescription for myriad health conditions. We are grateful to all of our partners, public and private, who support our patients on their journey home.” 

Leora Jontef, NYC Health + Hospitals Assistant Vice President of Housing and Real Estate, said: “Every New Yorker deserves safe, quality affordable housing, and we see time and again that once our patients are housed, their health improves. We are so proud to have housed over 1,000 patients and their families, and we are eager to support the next 1,000 find their new home.”

Stephanie Marrone, a patient of NYC Health + Hospitals/Woodhull who found housing through the health system’s Housing for Health program, said that “everyone at the Woodhull Safety Net Clinic was very supportive and understanding.

“Having my own apartment again is remarkable,” she said. “My blood pressure hasn’t been this good in 30 years. It’s a beautiful apartment, and I love my new neighborhood. This is the perfect place for me to restart my life.” 

In 2023, NYC Health + Hospitals said it provided care for over 72,000 patients experiencing homelessness or housing insecurity, including over 15,000 children. 

It said adults experiencing homelessness have three times more hospital and emergency department visits than the general population. 

In addition to improving participants’ lives by finding them housing, NYC Health + Hospitals said the program is expected to reduce hospitalizations and emergency room visits and improve healthcare outcomes. 

NYC Health + Hospitals said Housing for Health is an initiative to connect patients experiencing homelessness to stable, affordable housing and a strategy outlined in Mayor Eric Adams’ housing plan, “Housing Our Neighbors: A Blueprint for Housing and Homelessness.”